Just Back from Aspen...

In the world of foodiedom, there is no event more anticipated, glamorous and prestigious than the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, now in its 28^th year.  More than 5,000 hungry and thirsty enthusiasts braved the thin air at 8,104 feet of altitude to swarm the mountain resort town for four indulgent days to commune with their favorite celebrity chefs, sommeliers and mixologists, many of whom are New York City fixtures. 

The welcome reception at the understatedly swanky St. Regis Hotel featured a cavalcade of Gotham biggies, including Food & Wine’s Dana Cowin, chefs Mario Batali (Babbo), David Chang (Momofuku), Masaharu Morimoto (above, Morimoto New York), Thomas Keller (Per Se), Jacques Pépin, restaurateurs Drew Nieporent (Nobu) and Joe Bastianich (Del Posto), Top Chef top judge Tom Colicchio (Craft), Top Chef doyenne Gail Simmons, Top Chef Season One winner Harold Dieterle (Perilla), Top Chef Season Two finalist Sam Talbot (below, with Simmons), and others.

The backbone of the festival was the Grand Tasting Pavilion, where 1,021 different wines could be sampled, from California, France, Germany, Chile, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Greece, South Africa, Canada, Portugal and Australia. For those who preferred more structured samplings, there were ample seminars, including a rather dazzling one titled “Two Decades of Dom Pérignon.” The bubbly sipping, with vintages back to 1988, began at an ungodly 10 a.m., but no one seemed fazed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Joshua Wesson (Best Cellars) paired hot dogs with everyday vinos like Prosecco and Grüner Veltliner.  The festival also entered more spirituous territory with a seminar on “American Whiskey” that celebrated America’s micro-distillers, including New York State’s Ralph Erenzo of Tuthilltown Spirits.  Bourbon, rye, wheat whiskey and legal moonshine all exhibited their own unique charms.

On the culinary side, attendees dutifully queued up in the blazing sun for the chance to sit in on perfectly choreographed cooking demos hosted by celebrity chefs. David Chang spilled the beans on his mom’s Korean marinade, that he uses in his many restaurants. He also demystified the sous-vide process.  While optimally done with a $1,000 immersion circulator, it can be jury-rigged at home by employing a couple of pots, a thermometer and a very watchful eye. 

Thomas Keller (left, with Tom Colicchio) tipped his toque to the world’s best preserves and demonstrated how to make cured lemons and a sweet onion tapenade.  Mario Batali enthralled his fans with Northern Italian takes on seafood and pasta. Clams casino, anyone? Morimoto illustrated Japanese knife techniques with breathtaking precision. Tom Colicchio teamed up with Gail Simmons to showcase two lamb dishes, one representing an ambitious restaurant style, one a homey style. Jacques Pépin and his daughter Claudine teased each other mercilessly and showed how a dab or two of caviar can make even the most mundane dish, like a humble omelette, totally transcendent.

When the sun set, many chefs, like Batali (left, with Dana Cowin), threw enormous parties at their rented chalets. In fact, Colicchio and Bastianich stopped by Mario’s with acoustic guitars in tow and strummed and sang some good old Simon & Garfunkel. And after all the parties, anyone who was anyone usually wound up at Jimmy's, an unpretentious bar and restaurant, to down some shots of tequila, eat the best crabcake outside of Maryland and bask in Jimmy Yeager's legendary hospitality.

The festival wrapped up with the Food & Wine Best New Chefs Dinner at the Aspen Meadows Resort’s Doerr-Hoiser Building.  In this gorgeous, museum setting, ten rising cooks from across the U.S. prepared their signature dishes, with NY homegirl Missy Robbins (A Voce) making New Yorkers proud with her Strachiatella Cheese with House-Cured Lamb Pancetta and Grilled Pickled Ramps. 

Everyone left Aspen stuffed and slightly hung-over, but infinitely more enlightened about food, wine and booze, and eager for more education next June. —MICHAEL ANSTENDIG

Where to Eat Now

Travel & Leisure editor Nilou Motamed (second from right) led a NYCW&FF panel discussion today that delved into the best places to eat in New York right now, along with a look at dining trends on the horizon. The gourmet burger craze is here to stay, as is southern barbecue, according to the esteemed panel of foodies. Southerner Ted Lee (far right) says that the beauty of barbecue in New York is that it's done with so many different styles. (He included Hill Country and Blue Smoke as examples.) Restaurateur Drew Nieporent (not pictured) declined to name trends, saying that he doesn't follow them, as Lee chimed back in that he sees restaurant-made cheeses and tofus as an emerging menu feature.

Anya von Bremzen (third from left) carried the torch for her home borough of Queens, while Lee sounded the cry for great eating in Brooklyn, citing Egg, in Williamsburg, among his picks. Other restos noted as faves by the panel (which also included Le Bernadin chef Eric Ripert, not pictured, and Top Chef's Gail Simmons, second from left) included Sushi Yasuda, DBGB (a favorite late-night hangout of Ripert's), Masa and Marea.

In an unexpected but fun twist for a food event, the panel was held in the theater at the Bumble+Bumble hair salon, making life very easy for anyone in need of a touch-up or a trim before venturing out to try one of the eateries recommended by the panel.

Pictured at far left, though not a panelist, is Ted Lee's brother, collaborator and cookbook partner, Matt Lee.

Bravo for the Beard Awards!

David Chang, Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber and Jean-Georges Vongerichten were among the big winners at last night's James Beard Awards, held at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. The glittering evening, known to avid restaurant-goers as the Oscars of the food world, drew the industry's best an brightest for an evening of peer recognition and, of course, good eating.

Show hosts Cat Cora, Emeril Lagasse and actor Stanley Tucci did an admirable job of keeping the proceedings moving, but much like the Academy Awards, the Beard show is infamous for running long and dry. Still, enduring the speeches is always a small price to pay for the post-awards reception and after-parties. In keeping with the theme of this year's show, Women in Food, the reception featured the culinary creations of some of the nation's leading women chefs, including Lidia Bastianich, Anita Lo, Michelle Bernstein, Carrie Nahabedian and Jennifer Petrusky.

Once they moved on from Lincoln Center, guests, nominees and winners had their pick of after-parties, with the more ambitious foodies packing in several stops. New York Insider briefly checked out Bar Boulud (conveniently located across the street from Lincoln Center) before heading to Nobu 57, where Drew Nieporent was hosting a Champagne and sushi celebration. We then decamped to the Modern, where the booze was flowing, though there was not a nibble to be had. Other revelers headed downtown to Mario Batali's Otto or to Terroir, in the East Village.

All in all, it was a night of great fun and redkindled friendships—as is always the case when the hospitality world pulls out all of its stops.

For more photos, click here.